On Thursday, May 11, PWR BTTM responded to allegations of sexual assault against one-half of the Brooklyn duo, Ben Hopkins. The accounts of assault and abuse were first posted in a private Facebook group and were later circulated on Reddit and Twitter. "The allegations come as a surprise, but we are trying to address them with openness and accountability,” the band wrote in a statement.
Adult Mom, an artist who has performed with PWR BTTM in the past, took to Twitter, writing that the group has known about the accusations for months. On Friday, T-Rextasy, who scheduled to tour with the band, pulled out of the upcoming shows and said that they were aware of allegations when they decided to join the tour.
Tancred, iji, Ratboys, and PWR BTTM's Father/ Daughter Records label mate Nnamdi Ogbonnaya also cancelled upcoming performances with the band. While touring members of PWR BTTM Cameron West and Nicholas Cummins announced that they were leaving the group. PWR BTTM has also been removed from the Hopscotch Festival lineup.
On Friday afternoon, their management company, Salty Artist Management, put out a statement on Twitter saying that the company would "no longer be working with the band."
In an interview with Jezebel on Friday, an anonymous person who the article calls Jen, described being assaulted and abused by Hopkins after a PWR BTTM show in 2016. "After Hopkins took Jen home they allegedly made sexually aggressive advances and started having sex with her without permission while also refusing to wear protection," Jezebel's Hazel Cills writes. "Later, while she was asleep, Jen said she woke up to Hopkins trying to have sex with her again."
“I just felt totally powerless in the situation, first due to physicality because they are so much bigger than me in size and also social status,” Jen told Jezebel. “I was trying to be okay with whatever was going on.”
“The statement that they made, I know for a fact, is an actual lie because I know they did know,” she said. “The statement they made is 100 percent false.”
Hopkins and Liv Bruce of PWR BTTM have not commented on the allegations since their initial statement. PWR BTTM, T-Rextasy, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, and Cameron West have not responded to The FADER's requests for comment.
